It is known to make concealable handgun holsters from certain combinations of materials. For example, a pocket to hold the handgun may be formed on one side from a relatively rigid thermoplastic material, such as KYDEX®, which is secured to a relatively more flexible sheet of material, such as leather, to form an opposite side of the pocket and to extend outwardly beyond the periphery of the rigid portion for mounting belt clips made of plastic or spring steel. Examples of such holsters are shown in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0181353 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,672,201. Carrying a handgun for personal protection is often done in a concealed manner. Doing so provides for desired accessibility and protection without being ubiquitous to others in your vicinity. A variety of holsters have been developed to accommodate concealed carry of a handgun and/or accessories, such as an extra ammunition magazine or flashlight.
A typical belt holster can securely and conveniently hold a handgun and/or accessory item, but relies on some form of cover garment to make it concealed. A more easily concealable type of handgun holster is one worn inside the waistband (IWB) of a lower garment (such as pants or a skirt) and is held tightly against one's body by a belt or the waistband of the garment. Typically, an IWB holster includes one or more attachment clips which support the holster (and the handgun or other accessory held by it) on the belt or waistband. In order to minimize the thickness and bulk added by a holster to the item being concealed, these clips are typically positioned lateral to the pocket that receives the item. Other extensions of an IWB holster may provide a shield to prevent the muzzle or grip of the handgun from directly contacting the wearer's body.
Leather is a traditional material from which holsters have been constructed for many years. However, the pocket of an IWB holster made entirely of leather will usually collapse under the compression force of the waistband or belt when the handgun or other item is removed, making reholstering more difficult. In some cases, an extra layer of leather or some other stiffening material is used to keep the mouth of the pocket open and resist collapse. A more recently developed and popular design for IWB holsters has been to attach a rigid outside encasement member to a sheet of leather, together forming the holster pocket. The pliable leather sheet rests against the user's body and extended areas of the leather sheet provide attachment locations for one or more belt clips, allowing the holster to conform to the curved shape of the user's body. The rigid outer shell is formed to fit the handgun or other item being held and maintains its shape even when the handgun is removed.
Unless “finished” on both sides, natural leather typically has a rough side and a smooth side. In IWB holsters, the rough side of the leather sheet is typically positioned toward the user's body with the smooth side toward the handgun in order to allow the handgun to be removed from the holster pocket with less friction and to help keep the holster in place on the user's body as the handgun is being drawn.
While leather is quite durable and resists stretching, while allowing a suitable amount of flexure, the rough side of the leather can be uncomfortably abrasive when held directly against the user's skin or undergarment. Leather is also not particularly breathable, causing perspiration to accumulate between the holster and the user's body or absorbing the perspiration moisture, which undesirably exposes the handgun to moist and corrosive salts.
An IWB holster is needed, made of materials that retain all of the desired qualities described above while minimizing or eliminating the undesirable qualities.